02x05 - The Path of Blood" / "Path of Blood

[bunniefuu]

Path of Blood

Are you deaf too, you old man?

Don't move, guards.

The king is within reach of my sword.

Is he serious?

Oh, dear.

Askeladd.

You bastard! King Sweyn is mine.

Don't move, Thorkell!

Askeladd's not acting normal.

Don't provoke him.

The king mustn't be harmed.

What?

Put away your sword,
then I'll forgive you for this offense.

Forgive me?

Don't push your luck, you savage.

As punishment for mocking my family
and my people, you deserve to die!

This is my last warning.

Put away your sword, Askeladd.

That's my nickname.

I'll tell you the name my mother gave me.
My real name.

Lucius Artorius Castus.

I am the rightful king of the land of Britannia.

I feel better now.

For a period of time,
the Danes held dominion over England.

But in the year ,
the situation changed rapidly

with the death of King Sweyn of Denmark.

Denmark and England
crossed swords once again.

Canute succeeded his father Sweyn

and took command of the
Danish viking army in England.

Upon hearing news of Sweyn's death,

Ethelred II returned from his exile
to Normandy and was reinstated.

Both men proclaimed themselves
King of England,

and the fate of the throne
was uncertain once more.

England was exhausted
by never-ending battles.

Your Highness, stand back.

I'm fine. I didn't drink any.

Y-Your Highness, have mercy!

I swear to our Lord Jesus Christ
that I didn't know.

I had no idea the drink was poisoned.

Your Highness, have mercy!

Please, King Ethelred!

Bastard...

Such underhanded means...

The situation here is even worse
than we were told, Your Highness.

It will take a long time for Mercia,

once called the Jewel of the Fields,
to recover from this.

Gunnar, don't speak as though
we had nothing to do with this.

We laid waste to this region.

What is that?

Huh?

Oh, right.

This is the advance force of our army,
which conquered this region.

That's not what I meant.

I'm asking what it is that they're doing.

Why, pillaging the land, of course.

They're looking for girls to
sell from among the beggars.

I thought I forbade that.

Have them beheaded and
display their heads on the road.

What?

B-But collecting the spoils
of w*r is a m*llitary custom.

Cracking down on it harshly would be...

Men who can't maintain discipline
are no soldiers of mine.

Behead them and display
their heads on the road.

Y-Yes, Your Highness.

Hey, you!

What? Seriously?

I appreciate you coming all the
way here, Your Highness.

Floki, have the arrangements been made?

Yes, Your Highness, they await your command.

They can move out immediately.

But you need not have met them yourself.

You could have allowed us to handle the matter.

It's fine. I was already here
observing the m*llitary situation.

I shall meet with them.

Earl Eadric of Mercia is a coward.

He is hardly a man worth meeting.

A person's character and their
usefulness are two different things.

Either way, I shall meet him
and judge for myself.

And besides, there is
another reason for my visit.

What do you mean?

Hey!

Canute!

You're here, you bastard!

Canute!

I must appease that.

I imagine it was too great a
task for you and your men.

Yes, indeed.

You little brat!

Let me hit him!

Get outta my way and let me hit him once!

Calm yourself, Thorkell.

Why, you friggin' fraggin' little...

I hate when someone stops my
battles more than I hate frogs!

What?

Frogs?

Mercia has requested a truce.

Our victory here is as good as certain.

You did well, Thorkell.

Shut up!

Battles don't stop until you've
taken the opposing leader's head.

I was about to lop off Eadric's head.

Don't make such a fuss.

Earl Eadric of Mercia is
merely the leader of this region.

Look at the bigger picture.

I don't care about that crap.

I just want to enjoy a
fulfilling life of warfare.

In the lands to the east, Ethelred's son,
Edmund, is making some disquieting moves.

I ask that you help us pacify the east.
Your overwhelming strength in battle is—

I'll decide where I go and
who I fight, Dicehead.

Canute!

You'd better not have forgotten
what I said to you then.

"I'm going to watch what you do from now on,
and who you'll become."

You're still a nobody.

You aren't even the King of England.

You're just a kid.

So listen up, kid.

No matter what you do,
you won't be able to avoid w*r.

You have no choice but to carve
your path with blood and iron.

Just like Askeladd did.

Don't forget that.

From the start, the path you walk
has been covered in blood.

How long are you going to keep doing that?

It's annoying! Get outta here!

Boy, I'm pissed.

I'll back down for today,
but there won't be a second time.

And don't you forget it.

H-How dare he insult you like that
in front of the soldiers.

Your Highness,
you mustn't overlook this offense.

Why not? It makes sense.

He offered a valuable warning.

He's an honest man.

Move it!

Clear the way.

It would surely be a
pleasure to live like him.

Let's go.

, pounds of silver.

This is everything we were
able to gather at this time.

Please accept this offering.

If you'll withdraw your forces from Mercia,

we'll provide you with an
additional , pounds.

It's not a bad deal, Canute.

You offer me Danegeld, Eadric?

What is your answer, Canute?

This is nothing.

Okay, lift 'em.

Hup.

Let me ask you something.

You're paying me this silver so
I'll leave Mercia, aren't you, Eadric?

I-I'm offering you , pounds.

That should be more than enough
for you to withdraw.

It's not.

Think carefully about what you're saying.

You're telling Canute, Bretwalda of England,

to take this money
and leave his own territory.

And the price you set on such an
insult against a king is this paltry sum?

I am your king.

I came to this land to quell the rebellion
taking place within my domain,

not for wealth.

This is nonsense!

Our king is Ethelred of the
honorable House of Wessex, not you.

Silence.

But Father...

Enough. This is neither the time nor place.

You're right. There is another
who calls himself the King of England.

So, did you offer me this deal
with Ethelred's permission?

I-I'm sure His Highness would understand
if we explained the situation to him.

Ah, how open-minded of him.

So Ethelred would forgive one
of his own vassals for deserting

in order to protect his own land.

Now, that's not nice.

He's got a nasty streak.

The world is in chaos
because there are two kings.

One must die.

Ethelred is a coward who
abandoned his people and throne

to flee into exile during the previous w*r.

Don't you think it's foolish to trust
the future of England to such a man?

You're telling me to betray him?

You've already betrayed him.

I'd like you to assist me, Eadric.

I'd like to make Ethelred go away.

You've served him for
many years as his vassal.

I'm sure you would know
of a good method.

Do you intend to strip me of
every last shred of loyalty, boy?

In exchange, I'll allow you to keep Mercia.

Ethelred's head is my price.

A good deal, don't you think?

I refuse. A truce is off the table.

I'll keep fighting a foul man
like you until the bitter end.

Floki, this man doesn't seem to be a coward.

He's got some backbone.

In that case,
shall we test it, Your Highness?

Come outside, Eadric.

I have something to show you.

Are you ready?

Yes, Your Highness.

Light it.

Signal fires? What are they signaling?

What is this?

What are you doing, Canute?

Father.

L-Look...

Th-There are more over there.

C-Canute, what are they signaling?

This is what it means
to go to w*r against me.

Imagine it, Eadric.

Mercia has been reduced to ash.

Do you understand now?

If I will it, reducing you to ash
would be no trouble at all.

Father!

Buy peace by offering me Ethelred's head.

It's the smart choice.

The next year, in April of ,
King Ethelred II of England would die.

Your Highness!

It is said he d*ed of an illness.

After Ethelred's death,
his son Edmund assumed the throne.

As his father's successor,

Edmund caused great trouble for
Canute's forces in a hard-fought w*r, but...

Seven months later in that same year,
he unsurprisingly also d*ed of an illness.

d*ed of an illness, huh?

It took King Sweyn ten years
to conquer the nation,

and this time, it ended in less than three.

The Witanagemot will recognize
Canute as Bretwalda.

The coronation will be held
first thing next year.

Don't talk to me about Canute.

You're ruining my beer.

Fine, fine.

Sweyn, Ethelred, and Edmund...

Thanks to the unnatural deaths of his rivals,

in the year , Canute officially
became King of England.

We Need a Horse

"We Need a Horse."